“Something about a horse, boobies and some shit? … Go listen to Kris Kristofferson, and then go listen to that song, and if you tell me they have anything to do with each other, then I will quit.” — John Osborne.

The controversy surrounding Lil Nas X’s exclusion from the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart is just getting started as the media echo chamber has gone into full obsession mode over the issue, and it’s been extended by Billy Ray Cyrus teaming with Lil Nas X on a remix of the song.

So far, just about the only place you can find anyone trying to offer any bit of reasonable and rational context and perspective on the matter among a bevy of outright lies being spread far and wide over the controversy has been Saving Country Music. But on the red carpet of the ACM Awards, Brothers Osborne—who are known for speaking their minds about controversial issues—piped up when asked about the Lil Nas X and “Old Town Road,” and offered the perspective that gone virtually unshared throughout media.

When asked by a Billboard red carpet reporter about “Old Town Road” and what the definition of country music is, lead singer T.J. Osborne responded,

“Certainly not that. You know, I don’t know what country music is, it’s not for me to say. For me, if music makes someone feel good, then that’s really the whole point of it. However, I don’t like that there’s this controversy around [‘Old Town Road’]. John and I, we’ve had success at radio, but we still struggle at radio all the time. So to complain about that to me is just like, ‘Dude, come on. Get in line.'”

Then guitarist John Osborne responded,

“There are tons of girls just waiting for the moment, waiting in line, writing the right songs, showing up everyday to the writing room, sometimes doing two or three or four writes a day. They’ve been in Nashville for over 10 years. There’s a girl in Nashville right now called Hailey Whitters who’s incredible. You go check her music out and you’re like, ‘Come on, we need to get this girl propped up.’ Then this dude puts out a song with kind of quasi country lyrics? Something about a horse, boobies and some shit?”

“Let’s turn the focus away from that,” John Osborne continued. “Don’t create controversy and expect that to give you a hall pass. We need great songs. Go listen to Kris Kristofferson, and then go listen to that song, and if you tell me they have anything to do with each other, then I will quit. I’m out. I’m done with this genre. I’m done.”

The comments from the Osborne Brothers underscore that in the rush to accuse country music and Billboard of racism, the media is completely overlooking the lack of merit “Old Town Road” has as a song itself. As T.J. Osborne said, if people find joy in it, there’s no reason to criticize that specifically. But is this really the song that advocates for diversity and inclusion in country music want representing the contributions of African Americans or hip-hop artists to the genre?

As John Osborne points out, the inclusion of “Old Town Road” comes at the exclusion of dozens of artists who are devoting their lives to the genre and have incredible talent, specifically women who are being ignored in country music, including Hailey Whitters, who just released a stunning song called “10 Year Town.” There are also many African American artists whose efforts are being overshadowed by Lil Nas X and “Old Town Road.”

Brothers Osborne are not dyed-in-the-wool traditional country artists with a conservative bend. Their music is quite progressive for country, as is their politics, and they have previously taken liberal stances on certain social issues that are against the country music norm.

The Lil Nas X controversy was never a racial issue until the media made it one. It was about making sure that artists who show their loyalty to country music see that loyalty reciprocated by attention from the institutions and metrics meant to support those artists, while making sure individuals and entities who actively attempt to manipulate the system aren’t allowed to cut in line.

The reason the racism thing is carrying weight is because no attempt has been made to throw other songs off the chart that I’m aware of (at least not on this scale). Who decides what’s a country song and what isn’t? They wait until a black kid writes a song that makes the charts to spark outrage? This type of outrage should have started long ago when bro country hit the charts which is essentially pop music charting at country music.

Then we have to decide who the country police are going to be and what the criteria is for a country song to be on the country charts. Who defines that?

I’m not agreeing with the racism stuff, but we have to be consistent or this is what happens.

if you’re talking about pop country, the tough is most of the guilty parties broke into country radio with a country song on a country label before going pop. So, it’s hard to throw off an established artist no matter what the race

I volunteer my services and hereby formally apply for the position as Chief of Country Police. My deputies are also at the ready.
We already have case files on Thomas Rhett, Maren Morris, Morgan Evans, Morgan Wallen, Walker Hayes, Dan Loves Shay and more.

“The reason the racism thing is carrying weight is because no attempt has been made to throw other songs off the chart.”

Incorrect. Bebe Rexha’s “Meant To Be” was challenged for being on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart, which it now holds the record at for being the longest #1 in history. Saving Country Music posted nine dedicated articles on the subject alone.

Also, Green River Ordinance was excluded from the country charts as well, and they are white, and way more country than Lil Nas X. This idea that “Old Town Road” is unique is one of the many lies being perpetrated by the media. I covered this media fabrication in depth in this article:

So one song has been kicked off the charts for not being country in the past? Should have been hundreds by now. It’s not unique but pretty damn close and certainly should be done more often. Not faulting this site. I’m faulting Billboard.

SavingCountryMusic challenged the placement of “Meant to Be.” Billboard put out a statement saying something to the effect of, “Of course it’s Country – FGL is singing and they make Country music.” Most people getting involved in this discussion don’t see the history of discussion that has taken place in recent years. They see that white-dude Pop and R&B have taken over Country music, but when a black guy tries to jump in, Billboard turns him away. I agree with Sean – this is Billboard’s fault.

I totally agree that Billboard is at fault here. However the point I keep trying to underscore to people is that when I read the flood of think pieces coming out about this issue, with probably a dozen more just today, Billboard is a footnote. It is country music that is being deemed racist, or in multiple cases, Saving Country Music who is being cited directly.

Lil Nas X is riffing off country music. His “song” is the hip hop equivalent of Vanilla Ice. Not a revolution, just a lark that’s riding activist and media hype. He’ll be a blip like Billy Ray Cyrus, who had no serious connection to country music. Hence their partnership.

Well it doesn’t take a specialist to determine what country music is. This isn’t some nebulous genre. It has a specific sound and tone. The fact that these Nashville pop artist constantly make broad statements that country music is ‘evolving’ or its some open ended or some loose construction without distinct borders is a big problem. No one says you can’t be creative with country music but the skeleton needs to be there in order to fall under the genre.

“You know, I don’t know what country music is, it’s not for me to say. For me, if music makes someone feel good, then that’s really the whole point of it. “ –Brothers Osborne

Well if you don’t know what country music is how the hell are you able to determine whether or not someone is eligible to fit the country music genre? More importantly, why is Brother Osborne considered country music artist when they admit they don’t have an understanding of the genre?

The Brothers Osborn are not a country band/group/duo. They may be influence by country music but they should fall under the Nashville pop-rock genre just like Florida Georgia Line.

Brothers Osborne do some things that I don’t like sometimes, but they’ve got some great songs like “Tequila Again,” “Loving me back,” and “Shoot Me Straight.” These comments make me like them even more. As mainstream country stars, this took balls to say.

First off, they’ve only been around for about 6 years, which is just as long as Florida Georgia Line, and not as long as Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town, so not sure why they would be yoked with being complicit with them.

Second, Brothers Osborne has spoken out numerous times for more substance in country. In 2015 they compared modern country to “hair metal”:

“I think people are tired of the bullshit and are ready for the real substance,” says brother John Osborne. “We went through an era of big hit songs that no one is going to listen to 10 years from now. And we’re about to hit a decade of country that I think is going to be played for a long time. It’s about to hit the same stride it hit in the Nineties.”

T.J. Osorne adds, “I think artists are finally realizing we can either have this short-lived, sell-our-souls moment, put the song out and have a little flash in the pan, or we can get down to real music…

Also, I don’t understand this hate for the music of Brothers Osborne. I agree they had a couple of crappy singles, but their last album “Port Saint Joe” was one of the best mainstream country records last year, had a bunch of straight up country material on it, and got a lot of praise from folks from traditional country to Americana.

They’re two brothers, and their name is Osborne. I think their decision to change the order of the words to avoid confusion is about all you can realistically ask for. It’s their actual name, not like they can’t change it.

Right, they should change their for some nincompoop name Fuzzy Stuffed Shirt? You and your brother in negativity, King Honk, should take it somewhere else. I doubt most people that come to this site enjoy the constant barrage on nasty comments. I’ve been a reader for years and lately the commenters seem to have changed for the worse (other than you Fuzzy, you have been a negative stick in the mud from day one, never once saying something supportive). Sadly I come here less and less because instead of a group of positive people looking to support and promote good music, it’s a bunch naysayers that just want to hear themselves talk, and since no one will listen them in actual life they have to come here to spew their bile. No one cares,get a life. PS Brothers Osborne have great songs, write their own stuff and play their own instruments. What’s not to like?

I stand duly corrected , trigger …..didn’t recall the quotes in that article . its apparent that they did , in fact , speak up ……and good for them for stating the obvious and what most COUNTRY fans , if not music fans , are already aware of .

and btw , i don’t mind a lot of their stuff ,comparatively speaking …no hate for them from this corner . good vocals , a character to their sound which may not alwasy be country ..but it always seems to come from an honest place .

but I do stand by the fact that so many more could have stepped up …and still should , to , as it turns out , echo their sentiments . fortunately the stapletons and the musgraves and a few others are leading by example and having success with a more honest approach to writing and recording .

Brothers Osborne go it right though.
If you can imagine Lil Nas X singing Kristofferson or Strait, then let him on the country charts.
But if you can imagine Lil Nas X singing Tupac, then stay on the Rap charts.

You’re dumb, Trig. Not always, but right now you are. How can Fuzz virtue signal when there’s no one to signal to?

Furthermore, do you really not get it that people like Fuzz are sick to effing death of not being able to hear a damn C(c)ountry song on the radio? And we come to this website, only to find the consistent touting of mediocrity and inauthentic garbage.

Honky – you seem to be triggered before you even crawl out of bed in the morning. In fact, I don’t recall ever seeing a comment from you that wasn’t born out of being completely triggered. Not just having an opinion…. but literally triggered.

Maybe if “people like Fuzz” would stop wasting time bitching in comment sections and get up off their lazy asses and look for the country music they prefer on the Internet instead of relying on the dead medium that is radio to bring it to them, they could find the joy in life they so richly lack.

This article has nothing to do with the music of the Brothers Osborne. It has to do with them speaking out about the inclusion of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” in the country genre, which you would think we could all agree is an important subject in the effort to “save country music.”

One of the reasons Lil Nas X is winning this fight and we are losing is because the entirety of pop and hip-hop community is rallying behind him. The African American community is rallying behind him. The political left is rallying behind him. And all of those elements are banding together and using this moment to degrade country music as a cultural institution without any infighting or flinching from that fight.

Meanwhile the ONLY other instance when someone has publicly spoken up about this Lil Nas X matter aside from myself, and purists take a tire iron to their knees because they’re not country enough. Oh any yeah, now attack me because I should be attacking them for not being country enough too. This idiocy is how we lose this fight.

You don’t like Bothers Osborne? I get it. But you can still like what they had to say. And if you don’t, YOU’RE the one who doesn’t get what Saving Country Music is all about.

I understand the main point that you are making and I agree with you. Yes, what Brothers Osborne said:

“Go listen to Kris Kristofferson, and then go listen to that song, and if you tell me they have anything to do with each other, then I will quit.” That statement in itself is a net positive statement made to swipe away preposterous accusations of racism.

However, just like FuzzyTwoShirts over there observed and I too find it ironic that it would come from Brothers Osborne who are also a contributing problem to the country music genre. I don’t understand why you would critique what FuzzyTwoShirts said. Shouldn’t we critique? Don’t we want the best of country music has to offer? Is that being a purist? Or is there some personal beef between you two that I’m not getting?

I know the article is not about the quality of music from Brothers Osborne or their contributions to country music genre but it is noteworthy to point out their hypocrisy on what makes country music. Especially when you make statements like the following:

“You know, I don’t know what country music is, it’s not for me to say. For me, if music makes someone feel good, then that’s really the whole point of it. ” -Brothers Osborne

Fuzzy’s criticism of Brothers Osborne doesn’t seem to have much to do with their music. He says that their last album might even be “good.” His problem with them is that these brothers with the last name of “Osborne” had the audacity to name their band “Brothers Osborne.” Because “Osborne Brothers.” Fuzzy loves them, you see. Like a good, smart country music fan should. And this is not the first time he’s shared this line of thought with us, I’m pretty sure. He’s a broken record on numerous topics, all of which signal his country purist virtue and superior knowledge of country music.

“their music is passable, I’ll even give Port Saint Joe a pass for being okay, maybe even good”

“Brave words from a band whose only contribution to Country Music has been to undermine and subvert the legacy of the actual Osborne Brothers”

Jack, I feel like it’s implied that he doesn’t think very highly on the quality of music from Brothers Osborne. He says they haven’t done anything for country music i.g. they’re mediocre, sub par. But yea, I get that his big gripe with Brothers Osborne is the subversion of the Osborne Brothers.

Wouldn’t the Osborne Brothers have legal recourse for trademark infringement because of the likelihood of confusion?

Getting back to that quote from the Osborne who’s the singer, he did start out with “certainly not that.” And I thought his “not for me to say” comment was just humility. And the sentence after that seemed to be about music in general, not country music specifically.

I like what little I’ve heard from the Brothers Osbornes. The two songs of theirs that I’ve heard aren’t straight country, but are solid country influenced rock and roll. They have soul. And that puts them way above the dudebros, at least for me personally. I think it’s good they said what they said, but it also applies just as much to some people in their industry, like Walker Hayes, for instance. In a way, it would be even more courageous to call them out.

The Brothers Osborne have excellent songs and videos, like “Shoot me straight”, “It ain’t my fault” or the beautiful “Pushing up Daisies”. Their last album, “Port Saint-Joe”, was one of the best mainstream albums released in 2018. I love their legendary frankness. Their interview last night is so good. They said, with few words, all that I wanted to hear about this controversy. Great!

So many people are on here just blasting hate for Brothers Osborne and you are missing a very important point they are making. This crappy 1 minute 53 second meme is not just disrespectful to country music, it disrespects women as well as pushes deserving women off the charts. Bragging about cheating on a woman and rapping about boobies has no place in this genre. This meme takes “bro country” to a whole new level. We have “woke” white men like Jake Owen, Billy Ray Cyrus, and whatever the name of that FGL guy is singing the praises of this trashy non-country song and perpetuating the myth that Lil Nas X is being discriminated against. Why aren’t these guys advocating for Ashley McBryde or any number of women who are being excluded by radio? Old Town Road is a travesty. I am really thankful that John and TJ pointed out what so many of us are thinking. As for those of you upset by their name, get over it. Osborne is their last name!!! I mean it could be worse, they could call themselves John+TJ!

True, but without a doubt women are being pushed completely off the playing field at this point. I have no idea why this is happening, but women are not at all being taken seriously. For whatever reason they face a much bigger up hill battle. Cody Johnson, Stapleton, Luke Combs (I am a little iffy on him actually) sound more traditional and get airplay. I grew up listening to Tammy, Loretta, Dolly, etc. There are great women artists out there deserving airplay. They won’t get it. I feel that this Lil Nas X crap is being touted as a big lie, that country music is racist when that dumb meme is purely disgusting to women and music in general. Imagine Merle Haggard singing about boobies. This meme is ridiculous. It is just a meme, NOT a country song.

As country music becomes more diverse, including the audience, part of the problem is that more female listeners do not prefer female singers to male. I believe Trigger has commented on that point before.

The way Lil Nas X brags about it is not what I consider country. Most cheating songs in country invoke the remorse and pain of the situation, like Linda on My Mind, for example. Country music makes you feel something. It is emotional. It tells a story. The success of this dumb meme us setting a dangerous precident. We already have country music being dummied down to nothing more than songs about bros getting drunk and having sex with a girl in a cornfield. Now we have a stupid meme about boobies hitting the charts. God forbid Luke Bryan, FGL, Aldean, etc, start following in Little Nas X’s footsteps!

On the Other Hand – Randy Travis, that comes close to cheating, scoots right up to the line. The original song about sex in a cornfield had to be Garth Brooks, oh I stand corrected, it was a wheat field.

But yes songs about the male arousal response as if that was a song topic, and apparently by how often it is repeated as if it were an interesting topic, are just awful. Get a real song topic please.

I hate Old Town Road as much as anyone here, but I’m also a passionate fan of Bobby Bones. Having heard his take, it seems that he likes the song without weighing its merits as a country song. To Bobby, music is music and has no boundaries. I respect that sentiment up to a point, but when it hurts other country artists by stealing their chart space its bad for everyone.

Bobby Bones has been on pop, rock, and hip-hop stations over the past 15 years. He just happened to have been given a huge platform on country radio when iHeartMedia liked what he was doing on pop radio in Austin.

Yes, but he’s supposed to be a country personality now. He’s on a country station. He’s won country awards. You would hope he would be an advocate for the genre, not one inadvertently helping to destroy it by letting a song like “Old Town Road” onto the airwaves.

So I decided to look into the “country” spins of Old Town Road and I found 139 spins (vs the 140 reported in Billboard). Of the 139, all but 15 appear at a glance to be from play on iheart stations via Bobby Bones. Under their current rules, I’m not sure there is much billboard can do though as their airplay chart is specific of monitoring and charting the songs played on top country stations. It is receives enough airplay to stay on the airplay chart next week, I suspect it will get added back to the Top Country Songs chart as well.

Lil Nas X said he putted the song under “Country” to help improve with algorithms since the rap categories are crowded.

The song I think is a little enjoyable ironically for the goofiness (bad it’s good). But I still wouldn’t consider it Country and it’s ridiculous with the “racist” claim for the charts that is it’s taking attention attention from actually good black roots artists.

Anybody else notice the only people who seem to be supporting Lil Nas X on twitter and mainstream media don’t seem to be knowledgeable about music at all, much less country music. They have no skin in the game (no pun intended) other than social justice posturing and grandstanding. The argument always goes straight to accusations of racism, and nothing else.

Last I checked, hip-hop was the dominant music genre on the planet. That’s fine, as far as I’m concerned. But let’s be real, “Old Town Road” is a hip-hop track, albeit with goofy cowboy/country references. Let it stand on its own merit, on hip-hop charts and playlists.

As an aside, this has been done before, and better. When I was deep into hip-hop in the 90’s I had an album from a rapper called Sadat X of the Afrocentric hip-hop group Brand Nubian. His first solo album, from 1996, was called Wild Cowboys and the album art depicted him and his crew as cowboys in old western garb, and the album was chockfull of western themed lyrics and sonic tropes. It was gimmicky, but squarely considered hip-hop and never for a second did I or anybody else consider it country.

This was also done by Bone Thugs with Ghetto Cowboy years ago (https://youtu.be/EVm7Smq-T0c). And that song was awesome. But it was properly categorized as hip hop. I like Old Town Road. I think it’s funny and pretty catchy, but it’s no more country than Ghetto Cowboy.

Even Pitbull’s “Timber” featuring Kesha was more country than “Old Town Road.” I don’t recall any brouhaha over that not appearing on the country charts (Pitbull is Hispanic). And as Trigger has pointed out, Kesha knows a few things about real country music too.

Ride em Jew boy. Why there no Jews on the billboard huh? U wanna flap ur gums bout racism? Kinky released a timeless record couple years ago. U review it? Where my jewboys at? Jesus in pajamas most important song in decades. Where the radio at????

I do, unfortunately. Anyone remember where it charted? Nearly everywhere, except the country chart.

No one pulled a race card when that happened.

BUT….the industry has allowed songs like Luke Bryan’s “My Kind of Night” (among many many others) to chart and chart well; so I can see the dichotomy in this current situation and I can understand why people are calling the race card. They want a reason to explain why this chart removal happened, and the claimed reason of “This just isnt country music.” doesnt seem to hold much water when the aforementioned Luke Bryan-esque, not even close to country music sounding trash has been allowed to prosper in this realm for so long. When the industry blurs the line as much as it has in the last 20ish years, everyone forgets where it is. Billboard forgets where the line is. Music Row forgets where the line is. Artists who stick the word “truck” and “horse” into a hip hop song and say “Yep. This is country.” dont know where it is. No one calling the shots or making the hits knows where it is, because that world has become such a departure from the truth.

Seems to me, the only people who know what the hell is going on in country music are people who are actually making it…and the industry doesn’t pay them nearly enough mind. Sure there are a few, but sadly there arent enough to define where the line is. At least they can be 100% sure they are on the right side of that line.

Yeah, I always found it funny that McGraw later lamented “they put pop in my country” in “Back When.” I like McGraw, so I was amused. Could have been PO’d by the hypocrisy, but not sure how much say he had at that label.

We used to go see Luke Bryan back when he played country music in little venues like the Georgia Theatre. Also saw him open for Hank Jr. in Florida (Jason Aldean was the other opener). A lot of these debates remind me of Hank Jr’s song and even more so the video for “Young Country.”

There are a bunch of Luke Bryan songs that I cannot stand. I don’t remember the last time I even bothered to check out a new album of his. I know I’ll end up hearing every single at least once.

The sad truth is his earnest country songs didn’t get the airplay the insipid stuff does. I think maybe I found SCM because of a post ripping “Country Man” as a list song. (Or through posts about Hank III, who I’ve also seen I concert and like). I took “Country Man,” as tongue-in-cheek, compared to his songs until then, and had seen him live enough times to see his personality and also see him cover songs I loved and play some of his own that I thought were pretty good. The video for “Country Man” probably made the difference between him hitting it big or limping along. (It’s got to be weird for Dierks Bentley to open for Luke when Luke used to open for him). Anyway, “Y’all Can Have This Town” live at the Georgia Theatre was pretty damn good. “We Rode in Trucks” didn’t quite fire on all cylinders (yeah, pun intended) and it cheated by rhyming a word with itself, but it had some lyrics that described my rural upbringing well. From what I gather, even when he was a kid, his family was more affluent than mine. Still, he wrote some decent songs – I’d take “That’s What Country Is” over anything by Sam Hunt ever. But, that’s another Luke Bryan song I never heard on the radio. Maybe his label didn’t even give it a chance.

And, I’m happy to live and let live – I fully support the right of others to listen to music that I think sucks. I just want to be able to use the radio in my truck again, without having to play music from my phone because I can’t stand more than 30 seconds of half the songs or the BS-slingers on talk radio.

Why can’t we get country radio to play songs country listeners want to hear? Why can’t FGL and Sam Hunt find a home on a pop station? Even the satellite radio sucks. Bought a car in 2007 that came with 6 months of Sirius. Didn’t find it worth the $5 offers they sent me to renew.

You already get an F for not having your homework done. Kris Kristofferson isnt “homework”. Hes a prerequisite. You all might not realize it, but her saying that shit highlighted the very core of why this current issue everyone is discussing.

Not knowing anything about hitters like Kristofferson and calling yourself a country fan/journalist/personality/singer/whatever is like being a mechanic and not knowing the difference between and automatic and manual transmission.

Exactly. Perfect ignorance of the history of country music by people paid to cover it is at the very heart of this issue. That’s the only way a tweet completely ignoring Charley Pride and 40 years of African American contributions to country music could go viral, and be quoted by dozens of outlets completely unvetted.

Those of us who remember the roots of it all, are still listening to and making real music that speaks to the soul. Guys like Joshua Ray Walker, Ross Cooper, Evan Bartels, Paul Cauthen, Ward Davis, and thankfully the list goes on a while….all remember it. They all nod to it and still let the past steer their rig when they have to.

Id love to see all of them find untold success, but my only fear with that is that the industry would poison it. More often than not, the easy path is often not the right path.

Hey, while we’re talking Kristofferson… I never found out what happened with Toby Keith and the Blackbird Presents the Life and Music of Kris Kristofferson. He was on the roster and even on the t-shirts (artists always subject to change, of course). Never heard why he wasn’t there. Hank Jr. was there, so not strictly a political opinion thing. My only guess was it may have been around the time of the rumor / story that Kris put TK in his place (and reminded Keith that only one of the two of them served in the military) after Keith made a crack about ‘none of that liberal stuff.’

BTW – I had been on the fence about Eric Church until he did an awesome “To Beat the Devil” at that show.

Why isn’t anyone talking about the Remix (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus). Off world. I can see a COMPROMISE here. A new category called COUNTRY TRAP. I can hear the bass, the new BASS. Country music is about the money. Eighties pop…”we’ll take it”. Taylor Swift…”we’ll take her”. Debuts at #15 on country (what…ah, hell no). Billboard top number 1 song…(err, uh, maybe we should rethink this ‘country thang’. BOOM…….

With all due respect, you’re not doing the genre or yourself any favours here. You are constantly backtracking, explaining how and why you’re definitely not racist. b.bb…bb..ut I’m not racist!

The truth is that these far-left social activists do not care whether or not you are racist or not. They see country music as, for right or wrong, a white, culturally conservative and rural thing. This means it is bad, in their eyes. They use the accusations of racism as a weapon, because they know it has an effect on nice, honest people like you and I. The more wordy you get proving you’re not racist, the more thread you lay down that’ll trip you up.

You people think that the other side is arguing in good faith; that by reasoning you can show them where they’re wrong. I can tell you, this will not work. Country music needs somebody to take a serious stand. The country base all supports it.

The only way to win this battle is to stand up, loud and proud, and state your view. No, “Old Town Road” is *not* country. No, Lil Nas X is *not* a country music artist. Yes, it *should* be taken off Billboard. No, I have *no problem* with black *Country* artists. These are truthful statements, and everybody knows they’re true.

Country music needs a real champion right now, not a guy who is weaseling out of the spotlight with words. You will face fire and fury (yet you already face it right now anyways, hmmm). Might as well stand for something. What’s the worst they’re gonna do, call you racist? Are you up for it? We need a champion, Kyle.

I appreciate the feedback and advice. I have to say though, I find it a little bit confusing. I kind of thought that’s what I was doing. But at the same time, I see the value of fighting misinformation with information. Puffing my chest out and saying, “I’m not a racist!” is not enough. That just results in incessant back and forths. If anyone wants to find the real story behind this issue, they can. I don’t mind having to explain myself.

Right now one of the biggest challenges I’m facing is not from the public or the dozens upon dozens of journalists who are so engrossed in a media echo chamber it daunting and embarrassing, it’s from my own readers who will howl and complain the more I focus on this issue while they demand coverage for “real country artists” that they will ultimately ignore like they always do. This isn’t my first time at the rodeo, and every time these subjects get broached multiple times, I start hemorrhaging readers, social media followers, and then they actively turn on me. Compare this with the proponents of Lil Nas X, and you won’t hear a discouraging word among their ranks. It’s pure solidarity.

The Brothers’ Osborne take was … not spot on. It takes the position that Lil Nas X was somehow wrong in recording and releasing the song, that he is wrong to consider and list the song as country (more on this in a minute though on another post), that he is somehow responsible for the controversy – caused by Billboard and Rolling Stone – or that he has anything at all to do with women and other artists not getting record deals and airplay (an issue not exclusive to country … as if there aren’t a lot of hip hop songs and artists supplanted by this also).

All Lil Nas X did was create a song, upload it to Sound Cloud and promote it on Tik Tok. (It’s a bad song? There are plenty of bad songs to become massive hits, along with bad books, TV shows and movies.) That is what needs to be made plain and clear … Lil Nas X is the person least deserving of criticism in this whole mess. (That includes for submitting it as country but again, another story.)